GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[mdrejhon]

There was a pilot project that did exactly that at Union and Queen's Park, but for some reason the TTC terminated it a few months ago, after running successfully for a year or two. No idea why they stopped.

Touché.

Hope they bring the new vending machines online soon.

Inventing new vending machines is extremely costly -- sometimes resulting in terrible vending machines.

Certainly, the new Presto add-value machines aren't bad as long as they don't crash. I pray recent software updates have made them much more rock-stable now. Ergonomics are so-so for inserted debit cards (debit screen is hard to see) -- but Interac Flash (tap) works perfectly with no fuss & muss for add-value $100 or less. This machine hardware behave light years faster than the GO ticket turtle machines -- Memorizing the correct quick taps on each screen -- I can now slap $100 onto a Presto card in ~20 seconds flat (I timed myself!).

Basically a "debit tap & presto tap & run" to catch my train after arriving at the station with only 1 minutes to catch train -- and an empty Presto card. Try that with a GO ticket machine, I can Presto-add-value 5x faster on the new machines than a GO ticket machine!

If they're coming up with a combination presto-card and presto-add-initial-value machine, that'd be a first. I just hope it's high-quality software & hardware with instant-response touchscreens.

 

[Megaton327]

If they're coming up with a combination presto-card and presto-add-initial-value machine, that'd be a first

The GO Transit TVMs are being upgraded with this functionality. Several in Union and a few other stations have had it for a while as a pilot project. All upgraded ones can query balance/transaction history and add value, some of them can vend cards. Of course, they don't have tap, and they are practically nonfunctional. They have all of the slowness of the GO TVMs plus the complete failure of the Presto add value machines. They're upgrading every single TVM at every GO station/bus terminal right now to have this.

I hope the TTC is getting a different vending/add value machine but I'm not optimistic.

 

[canarob]

This is amazing news for the Stouffville line! The "two existing train trips extended from Unionville GO Station to Lincolnville GO Station" are for both the am/pm runs (four runs total according to online schedule), which is really helpful and a nice surprise and makes up a bit for all the other trips that will end at Unionville for now. It's been a long wait for this!

 

[Allandale25]

Decided to update the chart Steve Munro posted (which was given to him by Metrolinx) on his blog in April 2015. I've updated it to reflect where we stand now. Happy to receive corrections.

Green = now in service/starting date announced.
Yellow = service partially in place/service doesn't completely match cell.
Red = target date missed; discussions with CN Rail still occurring it appears as per notes at bottom.
Question marks = not sure, happy to receive comments and do further updates.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

This is amazing news for the Stouffville line! The "two existing train trips extended from Unionville GO Station to Lincolnville GO Station" are for both the am/pm runs (four runs total according to online schedule), which is really helpful and a nice surprise and makes up a bit for all the other trips that will end at Unionville for now. It's been a long wait for this!

next task is to get all the service to mt joy as promised.

 

[Dan416]

Ugh Milton on that chart is super depressing, especially for off-peak "0 weekend, 0 weekday" and nothing in the 5 year plan.

I know the reason why, but it doesn't make it suck less.

 

[robmausser]

Ugh Milton on that chart is super depressing, especially for off-peak "0 weekend, 0 weekday" and nothing in the 5 year plan.

I know the reason why, but it doesn't make it suck less.

It really sucks because of the potential of the Milton Line. It is 3rd in ridership and it only has peak service.

I'm surprised that Metrolinx don't think that 4th and triple tracking the line is not a worthwhile investment.

 

[Leo_Chan]

SCHEDULE CHANGES
Starting June 24, GO Transit will introduce changes to a number of train and bus trips.

My favourite change:

 

[Allandale25]

It really sucks because of the potential of the Milton Line. It is 3rd in ridership and it only has peak service.

I'm surprised that Metrolinx don't think that 4th and triple tracking the line is not a worthwhile investment.

They haven't specifically said they don't think it's worth adding more track. I think the issue might be (and I'm not an expert and haven't talked to anyone on the inside) is that even with some additional track, the crossovers are still a challenge and CP Rail would want a very expensive rail-over-rail grade separation near the Humber River (see below; scenarios 2, 3, 4 require a grade separation, 1 and 5 do not). Here is what it says in the Business Case Analysis for the Milton line (I've extracted the relevant pages). Just as is the case with other lines, Metrolinx may want to do more on Milton, but they have to work within the funding envelop given by the Province and if CP Rail is playing hard ball or wants a price the Province doesn't accept, the wait continues.

 

[Momin]

Update:

Yesterday, Metrolinx officially announced that two-way all-day (commonly abbreviated as 2WAD) GO Train service will be coming to the Stouffville GO line, commencing on Monday, June 26th. The train trips will run approximately every hour in both directions, between Unionville GO and Union Station, with select peak trips continuing to run to/from Lincolnville GO, the current terminus of the line. This service increases adds 17 new trips to the line per weekday, bringing the total trips on the line per week from 85 to 170.

 

[TOareaFan]

Decided to update the chart Steve Munro posted (which was given to him by Metrolinx) on his blog in April 2015. I've updated it to reflect where we stand now. Happy to receive corrections.

Green = now in service/starting date announced.
Yellow = service partially in place/service doesn't completely match cell.
Red = target date missed; discussions with CN Rail still occurring it appears as per notes at bottom.
Question marks = not sure, happy to receive comments and do further updates.

I think your green box around the 18 weekday offpeak trains on Kitchener line is wrong too....there were trains added but I don't think it was 18....my recollection is that it was something like 7 in one direction and 8 in the other direction for around 15/day.

The best thing about the Stouffeville line announcement is that weekday evening is being added at the same time as weekday during the day.......the two work hand in hand...at least someone in Unionville headed to, say, dinner and a play downtown won't have to look at the schedule and say "I can catch a train downtown around 4 meet friends, have drinks/dinner, see my show and get home on a train at....oh, wait/what there is no train back?"

Still not sure why weekends were not added at same time but splitting weekdays and week nights bi-directional service was/is dumb and it is good to see that is not happening to the good folks of Unionville/Markham.

 

[robmausser]

They haven't specifically said they don't think it's worth adding more track. I think the issue might be (and I'm not an expert and haven't talked to anyone on the inside) is that even with some additional track, the crossovers are still a challenge and CP Rail would want a very expensive rail-over-rail grade separation near the Humber River (see below; scenarios 2, 3, 4 require a grade separation, 1 and 5 do not). Here is what it says in the Business Case Analysis for the Milton line (I've extracted the relevant pages). Just as is the case with other lines, Metrolinx may want to do more on Milton, but they have to work within the funding envelop given by the Province and if CP Rail is playing hard ball or wants a price the Province doesn't accept, the wait continues.

I feel like Scenario 2 is much more viable and would at least bring the Milton line up to the current situation of the other lines, which is off-peak bi--directional trains.

 

[Allandale25]

I think your green box around the 18 weekday offpeak trains on Kitchener line is wrong too....there were trains added but I don't think it was 18....my recollection is that it was something like 7 in one direction and 8 in the other direction for around 15/day.

Cool. Will update chart and repost. Also, if anyone knows if the service happened for the places where I have "?" I'd be happy to update that part as well.

 

[mdrejhon]

That's not exactly a great schedule for AM commuters - there's a 58 minute gap in the middle of the AM rush, followed by a 66 minute gap. The current schedule has five trains that get in before 8:59, the new one only has three.

Current schedule (bolded times mean orginating at Unionville):
http://www.gotransit.com/timetables/en/PDF/Timetables/04170617/Table71.pdf

Trains leave Lincolnville at 5:15, 5:54, 6:34, 6:41, 7:13, 7:41, and 8:11
Trains leave Unionville at 5:47, 6:27, 7:07, 7:14, 7:46, 8:14, 8:44, 9:49.

New schedule:
http://www.gotransit.com/timetables/en/PDF/Timetables/06170917/Table71.pdf

Trains leave Lincolnville at 5:54, 6:34, 7:13, 8:11, 9:17, 10:14
Trains leave Unionville at 6:27, 7:07, 7:46, 8:44, 9:49, 10:46, 11:46, 12:46, 13:46, 14:46, 15:46

Fortunately, it was not as feared. No reduction in morning peak service. A definite confusion occured (added trains by extension to Lincolnville) but to allay fears, here's the real schedule on GOTransit providing six options that arrives at Union by 9am:

However, that big counter-peak gap (Unionville->Union) from 15:46 through 21:01 is quite a standout:

Since they're successfully running hourly offpeak in both directions at other times of the day, why is this AD2W hole so big?

Could they tighten it up a little bit, such as having a smaller 2-hour or 3-hour hole (16:00-19:00) -- or is the bidirectional railway scheduling capacity so tight all the way to 9pm?

 

[robmausser]

Decided to update the chart Steve Munro posted (which was given to him by Metrolinx) on his blog in April 2015. I've updated it to reflect where we stand now. Happy to receive corrections.

Green = now in service/starting date announced.
Yellow = service partially in place/service doesn't completely match cell.
Red = target date missed; discussions with CN Rail still occurring it appears as per notes at bottom.
Question marks = not sure, happy to receive comments and do further updates.

Thought I'd make a map showing where some sort of off peak service will be available (whether weekend or mid-day/evening) on the GO system come June 26th.

Not bad. Looking at the map though, extending off-peak to Mount Joy really would be a huge improvement. It seems like such a stub of service right now.